Shirley Temple Black and Fulfilling our Potential

She was a lot more than a famous actress.

Shirley Temple Black, who died on Monday, February 10, 2014, at the age of 85, was a huge presence in my home. My husband and I mentioned her often, and we made sure our kids knew all about her remarkable career. Her death hit us all like a personal loss.

The reason we talked about Shirley Temple Black wasn’t only because she was a gifted actress, though of course she was: in a film career starting at age six, she appeared in 23 motion pictures.

We also didn’t talk about Shirley Temple Black merely because she was a popular child star, though her fame was unprecedented: from 1935 to 1939, she was the most popular movie star in America (Clark Gable was a distant second). She received more mail than Greta Garbo, and was photographed more often than President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Shirley Temple Black was a huge inspiration to us because of what she did years later. After dropping out of show business – she never made another movie after marrying Charles Alden Black in 1950 – she carved out a second career. Far from resting on her laurels, Black forged ahead, pushing herself to grow and develop in new ways, and applying herself to new challenges.

Black became a prominent political fundraiser. In time, she made a run for congress and in 1969, she assumed political office when Richard Nixon appointed her to represent the United States in the UN’s General Assembly. Black won praise at the UN for her professionalism, speaking out about environmental issues. She wowed her critics a second time, in 1974, when she was named Ambassador to Ghana, and again acquitted herself outstandingly. Later on, Black became the White House Chief of Protocol from 1976-7, and in 1989, was appointed Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, serving there during the fall of Communism.

Black also used her fame and talents to promote personal causes, such as Multiple Sclerosis and breast cancer. When she lost a breast to cancer in 1972 – at a time when it was considered shameful to talk about – Black conducted a news conference from her hospital room, urging women not to “be afraid” of talking about the disease. Her words were a major breakthrough in shattering the taboo of breast cancer.

Shirley Temple Black wasn’t the only figure to carve out a distinguished “Act Two.” Here are some other notable people who achieved success in one field and then pushed themselves to make a difference in other areas as well.

Albert Schweitzer, the doctor and philanthropist whose work in Africa earned him a Nobel Peace Prize, began his career as a musician. In his youth, he was a famous organist. Torn between music and medicine, he gave himself until age 30 to devote his time entirely to music, and then – at the relatively advanced age of 30 – first entered medical school. He later built a major hospital complex in the city of Lambaréné in Gabon, and encouraged western doctors to travel to Africa to provide medical care there.

Vidal Sassoon, the celebrity hairdresser and founder of the international Vidal Sassoon Academies, is credited with helping to invent the mod look of the 1960s. But he had a less well-known episode in his life: in 1948, he travelled to Israel to fight in its War of Independence. “There were only 600,000 people defending the country against five armies, so everyone had something to do,” he recalled, saying his military service was the best thing he ever did in his life.

Hedy Lamarr, the Jewish actress whose exotic good looks made her a movie star in the 1930s and 1940s, is today remembered for something far removed from acting. While pursuing her acting career, Lamarr also became driven to help the American war effort. She realized that secret signals would be harder to crack if they were sent via rapidly jumping frequencies. After working on encryption plans alone, she eventually recruited Jazz pianist George Antheil to help her and together they invented an encryption device that used a piano roll to change between 88 different frequencies. Their visionary concept was eventually used by the US military, and is still in use today, forming the basis of some GPS, satellite, and cell phone technologies.

Perhaps no one so deliberately cultivated a second career as Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Prizes. An arms manufacturer, Nobel’s invention of dynamite in the 1860s made him rich. When he was 55 years old, a French newspaper mistakenly reported his death, proclaiming “The Merchant of Death is Dead!” Reading this obituary changed Alfred Nobel’s life. He vowed to create a new legacy, to leave something good behind, and dedicated his considerable wealth to establish the Nobel Prizes, which celebrate human knowledge and peace, in his name.

Two thousand years ago, Rabbi Tarfon noted, “It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it” (Pirkei Avot 2:16).

We are never finished with our work in this world. There is always more untapped potential. No matter how successful and busy we are, there is more we can give, there is room for an “Act Two.” The examples of these extraordinary individuals and others remind us that we can stretch ourselves and resist resting on our laurels. There is always more we can to do. And remember: it’s not your burden; it’s your pleasure!

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Yvette Alt Miller earned her B.A. at Harvard University. She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Jewish Studies at Oxford University, and has a Ph.D. In International Relations from the London School of Economics. She lives with her family in Chicago, and has lectured internationally on Jewish topics. Her book Angels at the table: a Practical Guide to Celebrating Shabbat takes readers through the rituals of Shabbat and more, explaining the full beautiful spectrum of Jewish traditions with warmth and humor. It has been praised as "life-changing", a modern classic, and used in classes and discussion groups around the world.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 9

(9)
Sue,
February 14, 2014 5:14 PM

Provide proof of antisemitic remarks by Shirley Temple

One poster alleges that Shirley Temple Black made anti-Semitic remarks. Whether true or false that is a very serious allegation. Before we accept this as true I hope that the person who posted this will do a little research and come up with the alleged quotes.

(8)
jacques vandam,
February 14, 2014 1:33 PM

would love to get the information.

(7)
Anonymous,
February 14, 2014 7:02 AM

While the article's message is praiseworthy for its intent to be inspirational, it is unfortunate that Ms. Miller writes an article that praises Shirley Temple Black. I am 67 years old and my memory of her includes anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments made when she was an ambassador and afterwards. Am I the only one who remembers reading those published comments?

(6)
Eva,
February 14, 2014 1:39 AM

Fascinating

Thank you!

(5)
Lincster,
February 13, 2014 6:14 PM

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

I remember my mom talking, with reverence, about Shirley Temple, using her as an example of what one can do in life. Unlike many other child stars that did not have a good life after they outgrew their careers Ms. Temple-Black moved on to continue to serve our country. As FDR said, "We'll be OK, we've got Shirley Temple." It has been looking back, a time to reflect, about a very full life that gave so much to so many.

(4)
Anonymous,
February 13, 2014 5:21 PM

Thank you

Thank you Yvette for this inspiring article of tremendous "second acts". I will share it with my coaching clients - many of whom are retiring or are leaving their current jobs. huge gratitude.

(3)
Martin Lenk,
February 13, 2014 4:48 PM

To help is always better than to receive help.

There are many outstanding people who help Israel and there are others like Mel Gibson who hate Jews.

(2)
Chana Parnes,
February 13, 2014 7:12 AM

Never Giving Up, Making a Come-back

How inspirational to read about these influential individuals who cultivated second, very different, careers, later on in life. Most people are afraid to try something new, let along at the later stages of life. It's great to read about people who went ahead an "just did it"!

I was born with a neuromuscular disease known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy and have been confined to a wheelchair my entire life. Unfortunately my sister and I were raised without any religious instruction or guidance. My father wasn't Jewish and although my mother is, she openly claims to be an atheist. The "good news" is that both my sister and myself - independent of each other and at different times in our lives - realized that we are Jewish and chose to live a Jewish life.

Because of my disability, I'm not always able to attend services on Shabbat, but I always light candles, pray from a Siddur and read the weekly Torah portion. I would like to know whether, considering my situation, if using a computer is allowed during the Sabbath? I found the complete Bible online and since my computer is voice-activated I don't have to struggle to turn pages or continuously ask for assistance.

Thank you to everyone at Aish.com for making it possible for myself and so many others to learn about being Jewish and grow in the most important part of our lives.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Thank you so much for your encouraging words and for sharing your inspiring story.

God gives each of us a set of challenges. To those more capable of conquering difficulties, He gave bigger challenges. A challenge from God is a sign that He cares about us and has confidence in our ability to become great.

It sounds like you're doing great!

As for using the computer on Shabbat, that is prohibited. A foundation of Judaism is that we need to respect God's wishes, even if we think that doing otherwise is "for a good reason." Consider this story:

A king calls in his trusted minister and says: "I have an important mission for you to perform. Go to the neighboring kingdom and meet in the palace with their leaders. But remember one thing - under no circumstances must you remove your shirt during this meeting. Now go and do as I say."

The minister sets off on his merry way and soon arrives at the neighboring kingdom. There he heads straight for the palace where he meets with the King. In the midst of their discussion, he sees some of the king's officers pointing and laughing at him.

"Why are you laughing?" asks the visiting minister.

"Because we've never seen someone with such a pronounced hunchback as yourself," they say.

"What are you talking about? I'm not a hunchback!"

"Of course you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"We'll bet you one million dollars that you are!"

"Fine - I'll gladly take your bet."

"Okay, so take off your shirt and prove it."

At which point the minister remembers the parting words of the king... "under no circumstances must you remove your shirt during the meeting." Yet, the minister reasons, a million dollars would certainly bring added wealth to the king's coffers. I know I'm not a hunchback, so I'll surely win the bet. Of course, under these circumstances the king would approve...

The minister removes his shirt and proudly displays his perfect posture. With pride in his achievement, he holds out his hand, into which is placed a check for one million dollars.

The minister can barely contain his excitement. He quickly ends the meeting and runs back to give the wonderful news to his king. "I earned you a million dollars!" exclaims the minister. "It was easy. I only had to remove my shirt to prove that I wasn't a hunchback."

"You did what?!" shouts the king. "But I told you specifically not to remove your shirt. I trusted that you'd follow instructions, and so I bet the other king $10 million dollars that he couldn't get you to remove your shirt!"

The Torah tells us "Do not add or subtract from the mitzvahs." (Deut. 4:2) Jewish law is a precise metaphysical science. Consider a great work of art. Would you consider adding a few notes to a Bach fugue, or some brushstrokes to a Rembrandt portrait?!

Perfection, by definition, cannot be improved upon. Altering Torah law is an unacceptable implication that God is lacking.

The verse in Psalms 19:8 declares: "Torat Hashem Temimah" - the Torah of God is complete. For just as adding one wire to a transistor radio means it no longer can pick up reception, so too we mustn't tinker with Jewish law. The mitzvahs of God are perfect.

May the Almighty give you strength to continue your growth in Judaism.

In 1315, King Louis X of France called back the Jews who had been expelled a few decades earlier by King Louis IX. This marked a theme in Jewish-French life: expulsions and subsequent invitations to return. The French monarchy was trying to establish their land as the "new Jerusalem," and to fulfill this mission attempted several crusades to Israel. In 1615, King Louis XIII ordered that Christians were forbidden to speak with Jews, upon penalty of death. Eventually, in 1683, King Louis XIV expelled the Jews from the colony of Martinique.

When you experience joy, you feel good because your magnificent brain produces hormones called endorphins. These self-produced chemicals give you happy and joyful feelings.

Research on these biochemicals has proven that the brain-produced hormones enter your blood stream even if you just act joyful, not only when you really are happy. Although the joyful experience is totally imaginary and you know that it didn’t actually happen, when you speak and act as if that imaginary experience did happen, you get a dose of endorphins.

These chemicals are naturally produced by your brain. They are totally free and entirely healthy.

Many people find that this knowledge inspires them to create more joyful moments. It’s not just an abstract idea, but a physical reality.

There is no person on earth so righteous, who does only good and does not sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

Reading the suggestions for ridding oneself of character defects, someone might say, "These are all very helpful for someone who has character defects, but I do not see anything about myself that is defective."

In the above-cited verse, Solomon states what we should all know: no one is perfect. People who cannot easily find imperfections within themselves must have a perception so grossly distorted that they may not even be aware of major defects. By analogy, if a person cannot hear anything, it is not that the whole world has become absolutely silent, but that he or she has lost all sense of hearing and may thus not be able to hear even the loudest thunder.

In his monumental work, Duties of the Heart, Rabbeinu Bachaye quotes a wise man who told his disciples, "If you do not find defects within yourself, I am afraid you have the greatest defect of all: vanity." In other words, people who see everything from an "I am great/right" perspective will of course believe that they do no wrong.

When people can see no faults in themselves, it is generally because they feel so inadequate that the awareness of any personal defects would be devastating. Ironically, vanity is a defense against low self-esteem. If we accept ourselves as fallible human beings and also have a sense of self-worth, we can become even better than we are.

Today I shall...

be aware that if I do not find things within myself to correct, it may be because I am threatened by such discoveries.

With stories and insights,
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